Blog Archives
sThrough a Glass Darkly: The Trends of 2018 and 2019
Saturday , 5, January 2019 Uncategorized 2 CommentsWith 2018 finally in the history books, and 2019 stretched out before us, it’s a perfect time to take a moment to examine just what happened to science fiction and fantasy in 2018, and, in science fiction’s tradition of extrapolating into the unknown, what readers might expect of the new year. Let’s begin with 2018. […]
Sensor Sweep: PulpRev, Solomon Kane, Crypts, Fritz Leiber
Monday , 31, December 2018 Uncategorized 1 CommentFiction (Pulp Rev): A couple of weeks ago over dinner, Troy Tang and I discussed some of the fundamental problems facing PulpRev. PulpRev makes for a fine umbrella term for writers to rally around, but every writer has different ideas about the direction of their own writing. This makes it hard for people to define […]
Short Reviews – Slaves of the Crystal Brain, by Rog Phillips (as William Carter Sawtelle)
Friday , 28, December 2018 Uncategorized 2 CommentsSlaves of the Crystal Brain, by Rog Phillips (as William Carter Sawtelle), was featured in the May 1950 issue of Amazing Stories. It can be read here at Archive.org. Slaves of the Crystal Brain has probably been the best pulp story I’ve read in a while. Sure, there was some okay stuff in the issue […]
The Book of Feasts & Seasons: Christmas Eve
Saturday , 22, December 2018 Uncategorized Leave a commentTHE BOOK OF FEASTS & SEASONS, by John C. Wright, is a beautifully mind-bending stroll with a grandmaster of science fiction through the annual Catholic calendar. Over the course of the year, from January to December, the author takes his inspiration from ten different holidays and explores their meanings in a series of stories of […]
Doing something a little different for this Retro Fandom Friday. Honestly, none of the letters in this issue of Fantastic Story Magazine really grabbed me, and I’m not steeped enough in that fandom to appreciate or get a lot of the references yet. There were a few shout-outs regarding C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner’s “Earth’s […]
I am always up for a good book on cryptozoology. I read one of Willy Ley’s books from the library on exotic zoology as a lad with great relish. The idea of the Loch Ness monster, a dwarf brontosaur in the Congo, and other unknown animals is always appealing. Even later, I would watch some […]
Short Reviews – Split Personality, by William Morrison
Friday , 14, December 2018 Uncategorized Leave a commentSplit Personality by William Morrison appeared in the Winter 1954 issue of Fantastic Story Magazine. It can be read here at archive.org. This is one heck of a weird story! Chut-chut, a humanoid alien (a bihumanoid) with a bifurcated head is brought to a shrink to analyze why he’s suffering from headaches and horrible visions […]
“If a man smites you on one cheek, smash him on the other.”- Ragnar Redbeard Darwin’s theory of evolution caused a revolution of thinking including forays into popular culture. Evolution caused a some to rethink European man’s position in the world. The grip of the alien religion of Christianity began to slip some. One […]
In this episode of the Arkstream, editor Vox Day discusses the reborn Alt-Hero: Q backers’ campaign, previews artwork from Alt-Hero: Q and Alt-Hero #6, and hints at upcoming possibilities for Arkhaven film projects. To support Alt-Hero: Q, check out the crowdfunding link at our sister site, ArkhavenComics.com.
Today is the 103rd Birthday of fictioneer, screenwriter, and Queen of Space Opera, Leigh Brackett!
Last week, we examined how Martin Goodman, future publisher of Marvel Comics, combined science fiction with the popular “Spicy” genre to bring renewed interest to science fiction, fueling the first science fiction boom in the late 1930s. This would not be the only time the Spicies would shape the future of the pulp market. What once […]
Mousehole, by Stuart Harbour appeared in the Winter 1954 issue of Fantastic Story Magazine. It can be read here at Archive.org. Mousehole is one of those stories that takes a sort of cutesy approach to weird horror. The premise is Lovecraftian, the outcome grisly, and the results droll. The nutshell of the story is a […]